Well She Seemed Normal
by 4Shame
Summary: Normalcy is a trivial topic, especially where the girls are involved. Nevertheless, they resume as close to normal positions as they can get. In the meantime, the new world order grows actively curious about the origins of this new Lunar Corporation.
1. Chapter 1

Minako Aino was a hero in her own right. She was always on time, dependable, friendly, fashionable and had an amazing skill of answering multi-line telephones without keeping people on hold for too long while still being able to maintain a fluent conversation with whoever was standing at her desk. The Preventers had dubbed her the Superwoman of clerical work and she eagerly accepted the title, never slowing her pace and always excelling despite the fact that her peers had thought she already perfected her position.

With large blue eyes, sun-woven gold hair and a physique equivalent to that of a goddess, she had won the affection of plenty though she never quite settled for anyone in the office since she charmingly reminded them that work place romances were strictly unacceptable and prohibited by law of the Conduct Code they each had signed and agreed to upon hire. Deflated and disappointed, many afflicted would saunter off, daydreaming endlessly about the many other paths the situation could have turned down that would be in their favor and silently having to settle for these fantastical pictures as they resumed their tasks and resolved that though they would like to quit, they all were Preventers for reasons far greater than could be surpassed by the face of a gorgeous gal…or so most would think…

Still, office work with the daily greeting of the spritely blue-eyed woman in varying degrees of clothing had almost seemed heavenly. Even when met with ghastly missions and human endangering circumstances, the everyday route Minako made around the office to deliver each person's preferred morning beverage was something unanimously looked forward to as she naturally brightened their moods with her smiles and sometimes botched quotes of encouragement. Even the infamous Wufei Chang who was noted for his publicly acclaimed distaste for weak women had grown to appreciate her, eventually decimating his unhealthy knack for verbal degradation and instead choosing to address her with a nod and nothing more. Others had speculated he had grown weary of constantly trying to berate her since she often seemed unbothered by it and skillfully ignored him but truth be told, when he reviewed productivity rates of the Preventers' Corps and noticed his pile of paperwork had gradually started to decline since her stay there, he had understood that perhaps she was in deed a value and thought that scathing remarks from him might scare her away so he stopped at once.

She of course didn't mind. In fact, once he stopped supplying such hurtful slurs, she had noticed the gorgeous shape of his almond eyes and how the jet-black smolder of those well-guarded irises were devastatingly alluring when you stopped to look at them. She had even managed to learn that he was rather keen on the search for justice, a noble goal in her mind; though she would have been likely never to know that about him had he kept up with his less than admirable remarks. And of course the romantic in her would always stop to imagine just which one of her friends, since she was naturally excluded thanks to their contracted Code of Conduct, could wrestle that sensitivity out of him that she was most certain existed beneath that scowl and those fierce charcoal eyes.

All in all, Minako Aino was in deed well revered in the Preventer's Corps. She had won Employee of the year since the beginning of her tenure and even inspired the creation of the Peacekeeper award which was granted to her for her mediation skill and also for her infamous referral of a talented young doctor who stopped a deadly virus cold in its tracks when the space federation had almost faced a large epidemic that would have easily killed half the Earth's population. She was an upstanding citizen, a hard worker, and as normal as any girl could be amongst a horde of Preventer agents with differing histories of tragic proportions. She was especially far from anyone's mind when dealing with a particular representative of a Lunar Corporation founded five years prior with a mission statement of universal peace amongst an impending dark era.

It had become evidently clear that forces inexplicable by the norms of mankind had existed when a global attack was initiated on the fields of the Sanq kingdom. World ambassador, Relena Peacecraft, was taken hostage and a message was sent by the uprising enemy warning the eight planetary senshi that their Queen, assumedly Relena, would be killed should they attempt to fight back. The Preventer's Corps cautiously attempted negotiations, withdrawing from a rebuttal since Relena was captive, which ultimately ended in failure. And though mobile suits had been blown to bits and mysteriously reprogrammed to follow through with orders from the enemy despite the pilots in the cockpit, the Preventers still strived to devise a way to overcome this strange power. It wasn't until a bizarre group of ten appeared, nine in skimpy uniforms and one male in a tuxedo and cape, that they had realized this battle was never meant to be their own.

Confused and warily indebted to these strangers, they drew up a treaty with Relena back in her rightful place and these masked heroes as anonymous as they were from the beginning. The Lunar Corporation became their formal name, publicly broadcast amongst a mass of uncertain receptors as agreements were made and consolidated with signatures. From research it was acquired that this group had been rumored to have existed centuries ago in Juuban district Japan, their identities never quite revealed. Even with large funding and extensive study, they still were unable to find a clue of which families could be connected to these so called heroes as all documents and files were lost in the spate that had gradually drowned most of Japan. With the launch of space colonies and expanse of technology, history had suffered a decrepit loss so the Preventer's struggled to ease their minds as they reluctantly accepted the new role of the Lunar Corporation that had sworn their only intent was to protect the universe from harm.

As it stood, the Preventer's Corps held precedence in cases dealing with _natural_ crimes but if a situation arose that should be defined as anything other than "natural" then that case would be handed to the Lunar Corporation. Steadily, the case flow for the Lunar Corporation was increasing, an observation that had been somewhat unnerving for the apprehensive Preventers and even the new world order that had nominated twenty-six year old Relena Peacecraft as President of Universal management and peacekeeping. Space colonies were expanding, the once barren planets were beginning to evolve into inhabitable places and citizens' chatter about these anomalous members of the Lunar Corporation was starting to veer to vexing possibilities.

Cold and ever growing with suspicion was the common welcoming Preventer agents exuded when the familiar crescent moon pendant appeared on the lapel of a new-faced representative whose appearance was never quite the same in any of their arrivals. The Preventers often deliberated whether it could be the same person every time with different disguises or if they were different people that showed up each time, as the name always remained the same, but they were never quite able to come to a conclusive result. Nevertheless, as they awaited the inevitable arrival of an alien ambassador of the Lunar Corporation, they found their palms sweating with apprehension.

The room changed the moment the elevator doors slid open to reveal yet another new face of the Lunar Corporation. Smiling brightly, Minako gave a warm welcoming, fanciful eyes glittering with mirth and good nature as she entrancedly observed a tall, platinum blonde with remarkable sapphire eyes with hints of silver. His aura literally glittered with enchantment, small cat-like ears poking through his lustrous mane as though they were perfectly natural and instead of a crescent moon pendant upon his airy white clothing, there was a golden crescent moon shining resolutely on his forehead.

His splendid smile melted hearts of even the most unreachable, pale cream skin as smooth as milk glowing beneath the deified fabric of his angelic attire. Charming and well mannered, he bowed when reaching the flank of Preventers waiting on his arrival, nearly clearing suspicion from their minds as they cumbersomely hastened to retrieve their original standoffishness. Stern expressions returned with less conviction, the male species not at all exempt from the mystifying consequence of this newcomer's aura. From her desk Minako couldn't help but smile, eyes knowingly observing the stunned room as she smugly took a seat.

Even when the Lunar representative was swept away into a private room for conferencing, eyes remained glazed over with enchantment until hastily being pulled back by the stern admonitions of an uneasy superior.

"My name is Artemis."

Relena nearly felt her heart stop, the soothing tenure of his voice smoothing over her insecurities in a perplexing rife that she struggled to push aside. One glance to the side was no aid to her astounding reaction, as she noticed not only Wufei but Heero also showing expressions of malcontent which were only incurred when they were met with feelings they knew they should not have. Relena could only imagine what that could have been as she gulped nervously and unsuccessfully strived to be firm and distrusting.

"Artemis," she nodded, unconsciously taking in a deep breath and another when he had smiled. "Relena Peacecraft, pleased to meet you."

She hadn't extended her hand for fear that his magical touch might trigger some uninhibited fascination in his favor and in a rushed attempt to keep him from saying more, she pushed forward a slightly crumpled manila folder, her mind cringing when noticing her grip had been somewhat uncontrolled since his arrival.

She felt relief pour over her when Wufei's rigid voice took the task of explaining what was inside the folder.

"These are reports of an unexplained phenomenon in colony L1. People are collapsing without warning as though their life-force has been sucked out of them. Doctors say they are still alive but most are too weak to move or even wake up. This same phenomenon seems to be taking place on Earth in regions of the South Pacific," he informed, frowning when he noticed the concern that washed through Artemis' effervescent blue eyes. It seemed genuine and went against the suspicions Wufei had that the Lunar Corporation was orchestrating this strange phenomenon to further support their charade as an ally to mankind.

"We will resolve this issue as soon as possible," Artemis said, his expression noble and reaction quick. They felt his urgency clearly through their senses and Relena felt so sick as the alien nature of his appearance and the innocence implied made her question her own reasonable doubts about this organization. Heero had been seen tensing, his grip tightening over the head of a chair as he looked to be mentally grappling with how he should take this.

Previous representatives were of different temperaments. The first was largely mysterious, her ominous ruby red eyes setting each of them on edge as her responses to their inquiries were ambiguous and complex. It was the only opportunity they had to ask about the origins of this new faction and as the meeting ended they were forced to be content with discovering close to nothing aside from the fact that these soldiers had supposedly protected this universe for many millennia and would continue to do so as was written in each their birth rights. It was a nice notion, really, but it was not one they could simply accept when they had absolutely nothing else to go on but their word. As they evaluated that meeting and replayed the tape that recorded the stale conference, they each reached the conclusion that the ruby-eyed representative was purposely sent to keep them distanced from discovering the truth. The Preventers would try to corner her but it appeared she was absolutely immovable as she amicably side-swiped their questions and milked them for information they weren't even aware they had divulged.

After that they were extremely cautious when it became necessary to meet with any representative of the Lunar Corporation. The next few representatives were not as unsettling as the first but they were equally unwilling to share personal secrets as they never discussed more than was necessary and often left as soon as possible.

This representative, however, was unwarranted. He was kind, charming, compassionate and honest from what they could tell and it conflicted horribly with how they expected he would act.

Relena finally nodded, her navy blue eyes reclusive as she reluctantly glanced to her guards. Wufei and Heero nodded discretely afterwards, silently guiding the supernatural character to the door. He exited with a respectful bow, the file securely in his hands as he made his way out. The office watched him despite their real attempts to remain indifferent and they somehow overlooked the friendly smile he had given their esteemed secretary before disappearing to wherever it is he had come from.

Alone and suddenly able to think clearly, Relena pulled the phone from its hook and dialed a sequence of numbers. It was agreed beforehand that Wufei and another Preventer, possibly Sally Po if she wasn't busy, would travel to colony L1 to try and overlook the measures taken by the Lunar Corporation to remedy this latest problem. However, they were still uncertain as to who would overlook the operation in the South Pacific. A man by the name of Quatre Winner was originally referred to take the job but was unable after a conflict in schedules so the young President of Universal relations was forced to dig up old numbers and contacts. From an anonymous tip she found the number of a long estranged pilot who at one time was renowned amongst his peers to be the most resourceful.

Her fingers drummed against the table as the phone rang. Her drumming stopping as soon as she heard the line pick up.

"Mack Truck's Towing Company, this is Ed."

Relena bit her lip, recognizing the voice though still hesitant to believe it was real.

"Hello?" Ed asked through the phone, silence ensuing afterwards.

Relena gulped, urging herself to reply as she coiled the wire around her slender forefinger.

"Duo?"

* * *

This has been floating around my head and I had to let it out. Plus, there have been so many updates in this section that I was so excited and had to write something. All other stories are still receiving attention, of course. Actually CHE's next chapter is almost done and the next chapter for Disconnect is half complete. Anyhow before I go off on a tangent, special thanks to Nerf-or-Nothing for being such an inspiration to this section with both your reviews and your writing! You've really helped me a lot with motivation and for that I am truly grateful! Also, TopazDragon and angelic acquarian! You guys are also great inspirations! Your work is nothing short of amazing and I am always so eager to read your stories though I am horrible at commenting. I am somewhat of am ninny when it comes to reviews and for that I apologize! Anyhow, I hope this section stays alive! So far it is looking pretty great! As always, all comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

4Shame


	2. Chapter 2

It was fine that he had been given an assignment like he had signed his life away as a Preventer despite the real fact that he had adamantly avoided being involved in any attempt at crime prevention apart from the occasional rift he had to face with overzealous car owners that had parked their vehicles in red zones or places that clearly stated there was no parking whatsoever. He reasoned that he could do the "heroic" thing every now and again simply because he would have done it as a teen and his old comrades had expected it of him. After all, there was no fame involved in punching the lights out of a supercilious, fake tanned business man in cream suits that believed they were exempt from the law just because they had an eight figure or above income. He laughed. The ladies may have scorned him for being "unreasonable" for not accepting bribes of any form, but by God he swore that though he didn't look like the kind of guy that had much to be proud of (being as he was an employee of a tow truck company that was rumored to be going out of business soon), there were still things out there that money just couldn't buy. Coincidentally enough, that same fact that he worked for a busted down tow truck company had proven that money was no object to him. Go figure.

Yet, after much self-evaluation he would eventually come to the conclusion that, okay, perhaps he didn't refuse bribes for the self-righteous reasons he'd like to claim. Actually, it would probably earn him an even worse reputation if he was to admit that the reason he truthfully enjoyed his job was for those moments that he could legally deny obnoxiously successful douche-bags their inclinations that the world would bend to their will if they flashed enough dollar signs and had enough scantily clad women showing their goods as an extra bonus. Sure, he enjoyed the women, he may even have fantasized about what he could do with that type of cash, but when it all boiled down to it, he still hated it when people thought themselves to be above the law and his tastes had tactfully graduated to women who at least demonstrated a small portion of mystery when it came to their body. He may have enjoyed the female anatomy but it didn't mean he wanted to see it all the time…or at least he preferred there be a tad bit more teasing…

Nevertheless, unabashed and willing, he would always drive out in search of parking violations, sometimes hoping for a clash and sometimes not. It was a simple life; one with little demands but high potential for physical exhaustion if he managed to corner those really abrasive car owners that had unwavering faith in their intimidation factor and their gym-exorcised biceps. Sinewy, as he always was, he didn't look like much of a threat. Even with his formidable height clocking in around six feet two inches, he did not raise an ounce of fear in onlookers what with his well-cared for chestnut hair that was always braided behind him. Those indigo eyes were harmless as his lopsided grin always came out playfully whenever he stepped out of his rusted tow truck with his hands casually hanging in his jean pockets, a plain t-shirt with his homemade nametag on clear display. If the "victim" of Ed, short for Edward or Edmond depending on how he felt that day, was even a smidge more yoked than the tow-truck owner then it was almost certain that a testosterone driven response would harness itself in the situation as victims hardly ever lashed out when they thought they had no chance of winning.

Those situations were when Ed's smile would widen, his temporarily friendly nature unnerving the angry customer as they tried to forcefully weasel their way out of getting towed. Though Ed sometimes suffered a bloodied nose or blackened eye, it was nothing in comparison to the end result of the car owner that either found himself unconscious or completely dazed so that he may as well have been unconscious. Well now, I know what you're thinking… what if the car owner is female? Would she still receive the same consequence? This, of course, is a formidable set of questions to which the response would be: Though Ed is not currently accredited the honor of being considered a "genius" per say, he is still quite bright in his own right. With his younger years where he incessantly pined over members of the opposite sex and openly sought after their companionship, he had also acquired an irrefutable talent of understanding the general female thought process in his…how do we say this respectfully…lucrative experimentations of the physical and emotional sort. So you see. Though he did not have a degree or a bon-a-fide intellectual guru that had publicly confirmed the factual high level of genius he possessed, he was still in fact mentally adept and when spotting cars, their interior, the color and even the air level of their tires along with the make and model, he could easily deduce the gender of the owner. There was only one time where his astute observations had led him astray, a tale and time that he would rather forget. So like a Good Samaritan, he would purposefully avoid female owners and move on to those more deserving of his impenetrable tow truck capacities. Hence, ultimately life was good, especially for him. There wasn't a day that passed where he didn't feel like a success, except, perhaps, for today.

A surprise call from a pious world leader had left him reeling in regret. The moment she mentioned his former name- err – real name – err – self-proclaimed name attributed to his former, real natured self, he had fumbled to make a response that would ward her away from her assumption.

"Err-uh, I'm sorry but it appears you have the wrong number," he had said, suddenly becoming ten times more proper than he usually was and shouldn't have been if he wanted to convince her he was just the average run-of-the-mill tow truck driver. "Please don't call again."

He had thought himself to be a cool, roll-with-the-punches-without-flinching kind of guy but from the freeze up on the phone and the abrupt slam he made when he hung up, he had to reconsider that idea. Slapping his hand scathingly to his head in panic, his heart nearly froze when the phone rang again. In his mind the situation could play out in one of three ways.

Option 1: Pick up the phone. Fail to convince Relena that he isn't this Duo she claims him to be, and attempt to stay anonymous with the probability that Heero or Wufei would be dispatched soon after to scope him out and eventually have to listen to this request that Relena was certain to have.

Option 2: Ignore the phone. Continue like nothing happened and then eventually be apprehended by Heero or Wufei who would be dispatched soon after the call to scope him out so they could take him to Relena to hear her request that she was certain to have.

Or

Option 3: Pick up the phone. Confess to being Duo posing as some guy named Ed, short for Edward or Edmond depending on how he felt that day, and pretend to be willingly listening to her request that she was certain to have.

Running was an obvious option for the average man but as Duo, or Ed, fondly recalled it was not an option that he ever liked to consider. Of course, please disregard the fact that his current lifestyle could arguably be considered a form of running but it's highly circumstantial, I'm sure. Regardless, with a detestable sigh and a slight frown, he picked up the ringing phone, choosing option three and addressing the caller by her respectful title as he reluctantly leant a listening ear.

Mack, owner of the tow truck company he worked for, did not like hearing that his best employee was taking a sabbatical. As a matter of fact, the old bearded man even offered a bonus pension for Ed if he agreed to forget about taking a break along with a five pound spiral cut ham. It was a difficult offer to turn down, but with an amused smirk, Ed had to decline and left with Mack yelling in a bi-polar fit that he wasn't irreplaceable, sounding strangely close to a pop/R&B single sung by Beyoncé.

Taking to his old roots, Duo was in full revival, grudgingly dipping into his surprisingly large savings and buying a ticket for a cruise around the tropical islands of the South Pacific. The Lunar Corporation was not a foreign topic for him. Though he wasn't actively involved in universal affairs he still kept up-to date with current events and quite frankly, you had to be living under a rock not hear about the formation of the Lunar Corporation. Ten strangely powered people had risen to combat an equally perplexing enemy whose dark mass engulfed mobile suits like tin foil and spit them out in a crumpled heap. At first glance, Duo was alarmed nearly to the point of returning to the line of battle but before he made it, those supernatural heroes had popped up to save the day. Their timing was uncanny, waiting until the absolute last moment to show their faces and "triumph over evil" as the pigtailed heroine so eloquently put it.

From what Relena had to say, these newcomers didn't give them much to go off of. Mostly, it seemed, they expected the new world order to accept their terms and allow them vacancy in a growing world that was generally confused about how they should receive this new revelation of supernatural powers existing just under their noses. There was the typical response of rebellion, condemning those with unnatural abilities and all together wreaking political havoc, but as Relena calmly combatted those rebel forces, she sternly pointed out that these "aliens" were our only defense against an enemy that was still at large and perhaps growing in numbers. It didn't put to rest all those that opposed the Lunar Corporation but it at least kept them quiet enough for the Preventers and Lunar representatives to be able to hold these so called _peaceful_ conferences where they would discuss anomalous crimes or phenomenon dangerously affecting the human race.

It was a simple enough deal but Duo could see where the new world order might have trouble accepting this new help. So, in a secret attempt to gain more information about these heroes, Relena would dispatch undercover cronies pretty much to "observe their ways". Duo couldn't lie, it was an interesting proposition. He just hoped, however, that he wouldn't get caught up in some supernatural battle amidst it all and lose his head or something. Death wasn't much of a fear for him, but the forms of torture that must be possible when you have tendrils of magic at your command was not a comforting picture.

With all his essentials in a single duffle-bag, he slung the strap over his shoulder and tugged on the lapel of his windbreaker jacket. It was a horrible season for a cruise but those were the prices you paid for being connected to the President of Universal affairs. He sighed, glancing around to spot the few others that had shared in this epiphany of cruising during hurricane season. Fully dressed in storm attire, women were wrapped up nice and toasty, being just a bit too covered for Duo's tastes. With a sigh he boarded the ship, nearly colliding with a petite individual in a puffy blue raincoat.

Red-knuckled hands were rapidly losing color as they gripped vigorously to the handle of a plain black suitcase that had gotten stuck in an unforgiving gap in the flooring. She pulled and tugged, jerking back forcefully in attempts to free the blasted thing. Sympathetic and scoffing, Duo soundlessly managed to sweep her to the side, placing his duffle on the ground and grabbing the handle with his calloused hands. In one heave he freed the suitcase, rolling it back and forth to test the durability.

"There you go," he said with a boyish grin. "It's as good as new."

He glanced over to look for the girl that had previously been troubled by that same suitcase only to realize that she was not at all a girl but a _woman._ A familiar woman at that. A rosy shade painted itself across her pale cheeks and he could see her gulp when the recognition flashed through her critical gaze.

"Mr. Ed Sullivan," she said between snivels, wiping her reddening nose with a tissue as she promptly sneezed.

He smirked, amusedly leaning back against her briefcase as his eyes danced with mirth.

"You remember my name…" he drifted proudly.

She scoffed. "You shouldn't be flattered," she sternly advised. "I nearly have picture perfect memory. There's hardly anything that passes me that I can't remember. Besides, I make it my business to memorize sex offenders by name and profile."

He laughed, pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket and handing it to her when seeing she ran out of tissues. Reluctantly, she accepted, scowling slightly that he was so friendly despite her frequent attempts to reject him.

"Now, now Dr. Mizuno, there's no need to stake a guy in the heart for his past and purely genuine mistakes," he chimed. "But if you don't mind me asking, exactly what are you doing on a cruise ship in your condition? Isn't that somewhat _irresponsible and far from what any rational person would do_, as you have so adamantly told me once before?" He quizzed with a lopsided grin. Dr. Mizuno frowned in dissatisfaction, icily glaring in his direction as he teasingly referenced her words verbatim and out of context.

Remember the incident where he had mistakenly decided he would tow a car because he thought it belonged to a man only to find it wasn't a man but a girl posing as a man but not really posing as a man since she was quite at home with her gender despite the fact that she could commonly be seen as a man, a very handsome man, if you forgot about her genetic plumbing? Confusing? Yeah, it was for Duo too. And though he would like to tell you what happened from that monumental encounter where his observational skills were for naught, he couldn't, because quite frankly it was all a bit hazy. What he had remembered, however, was awakening to a rather attractive blue-eyed female with pixie blue hair hovering over his naked body and since his memory was faulty, he rationalized the night before must've been filled with booze and quite wrongfully assumed this newly acquainted female would be willing to engage in another round of the explicit type. Boy was he wrong.

Dr. Mizuno had never been heard speaking such filthy language, as her colleagues would later tell him when he regained consciousness after said doctor had brazenly stuck a needle into his gut and injected an almost lethal amount of sedatives. After hearing that, Duo classified the doctor as lethal but seeing her now with her pale features and Rudolph red nose, he couldn't help but falter in his preconceived notions of her.

Meanwhile, Ami's frown had deepened, the electric blue color of her bangs darkening as they began to dampen with a new sprinkle of rain.

"I'm on vacation," she stoically answered, reaching feebly for her briefcase as her body racked with another surprise sneeze. "Not that it's any of your business."

He laughed, handing her the suitcase without restraint and exhaling loudly as he stretched out, silently noting how she frigidly tried to get away but was stopped by the slow moving line in front of her. She huffed, her shoulders dropping as she still remained in close vicinity to the lax American.

"This is quite a time to take vacation," he commented thoughtfully, taking a moment to look out at the horizon full of gray clouds and not an ounce of sunshine.

She made no response, stubbornly keeping her eyes forward as he hovered behind her. She had said enough to him already and she didn't want him thinking that they were on friendly terms by making casual conversation. Unfortunately, as she would soon learn, this was probably the biggest mistake she could have made…

"Are you stalking me?"

Her shoulders tensed the moment he asked, her eyes widening as a small crowd had turned with curiosity to see who had been accused of stalking who. Her hand shook violently on the handle of her suitcase, a fit of sneezes in culmination to the reddening embarrassment of her cheeks making her queasy. She could only imagine the big grin he must've had on his playful features as he watched her burn with humiliation and abruptly abandoning her usually polite ways, she brusquely pushed her way through the line to find the compartment she prayed would be far from his.

Indigo eyes followed her through the crowd of people until she disappeared into a room, his mood significantly improved since the moment he ran into her. Though he was in attendance by order of Relena to study the mysterious workings of the Lunar foundation, should he actually be successful in finding them in the field, he was comforted to know that at least there was fidgety young doctor with ample awareness of his presence to fill his free time.

…

"Sally Po is completely booked with work," Minako reported with a smile. "But she is free next Friday night, Mr. Chang, if you want to take her out then…"

Wufei scowled, shooting a glare at the blonde unnoticed and shaking his head.

"It wasn't intended to be a date," he sneered. Though Minako was skilled, she was sometimes presumptuous and fantastical when it came to thoughts of love.

"Oh," she replied, slightly unconvinced but all the more professional despite herself. "Well then is it a secret assignment?" She whispered excitedly, leaning over the counter with child-like curiosity.

Wufei scoffed. It wouldn't hurt if she knew. She did after all learn these types of things eventually anyways. "Yes." He answered, watching her sit back in amazement as the cogs in her head started to run.

Before she could even get out another word, he was quick to shoot her down.

"No." He blatantly shot out, grabbing the file from her desk and making to leave.

"But," she started to plea, "I'll be helpful, I swear! I'm way ahead on the clerical work here that I can afford time away from the desk!"

"No," he shot out again, this time actually stepping away from her desk.

However, she was hardly one to give up and as a testament to her out-going character, she followed him around the office as he careened around cubicles to find files and tidy up.

"But I could do so much!" She tried to convince him.

"Like what?" He shortly entertained, pausing a moment to listen to her response.

She blinked hesitantly, a deer caught in headlights as she quickly tried to shake it off and make a substantial argument. "I –uhm- can handle the social aspects…" she drifted off, not completely sure if there were even social aspects to this current investigation that she was trying to get in on. It may have been true that she enjoyed manning the front desk of the Preventer's Corps but being an actual field agent or at least shadowing a real field agent had been sort of a silent dream of hers. And who better than Wufei Chang could show her the ropes and common tasks of a successful Preventer?

"Social aspects," he repeated dully, glaring relentlessly into her hopeful blue eyes. "Such as?"

She flinched, eye twitching until she could no longer withhold the pent up breath in her chest. The large sigh was enough to hint to Wufei that she had no clue what type of social aspects were involved, further supporting his notion that she had no place in a field mission like this, especially not when he was supposed to follow the patched out representatives of the Lunar Corporation.

"Wufei!" She exasperatedly whined, stomping her foot with her hands firmly placed on her hips.

He turned on his heel with a look of indifference, taking in her admittedly adorable pout and finding it difficult to cold-heartedly stifle her dream yet again with another blatant refusal. Since the uprising of the Lunar Corporation she had grown noticeably curious about the fieldwork done by the agents and actively sought to learn what she could about the paperwork involved and even the tactical parts of each mission. In her free time she was often caught studying old cases and though those files were often classified, she got away with it using those clear-water eyes and that carefree charm. She was an average, upstanding citizen so who would it hurt to let her view such private documents? It wasn't like she left every evening to a home in civilian territory surrounded by eager ears and socialites. Instead, she led a fairly solitary life in Preventer housing with few contacts. She only had about a hand full of friends all of which she contacted by screened emails and the occasional monitored telephone call. So there was little fear that she could ever become a leak.

Feeling completely unlike himself and severely weaker for being so sympathetic, he sighed, shaking his head in complete disbelief that he was already starting to compromise.

"After each mission like this we usually have to revisit the area around a week or so following its completion to be sure there are no loose ends," he informed, charcoal eyes gazing sternly at her. Straight-faced and eager, she nodded with a smile.

"Uh-huh," she muttered, urging him to continue.

He groaned, rubbing his head in curiosity as he wondered what had possessed him to be so lenient towards her. "If you like, perhaps we could arrange for you to be part of the loose ends check…"

"Absolutely!" Minako saluted, her excitement returning as she nearly plunged to grip Wufei in a tight hug. Of course, however, she had refrained using her better judgment. "I will leave all next month open, Mr. Chang, so don't you dare forget about me!"

Wufei nodded, immediately regretting his offer and rubbing his head in disapproval as he watched her skip happily back to her desk. He was certainly not the same man he used to be in his younger years…

With a shrug, he disregarded his previous thought and resumed his prior task of organizing his cubicle. He paused in surprise when he pulled out a flyer, the familiar circus logo sticking out among the page as a small scoff escaped his lips upon reading the location this circus would be traveling to next. Discarding his effort to tidy up, he pulled out his travel bag and made his way to the hangar, the flyer floating back onto the table as the inky black font read: _Coming to Colony L1 for the entire month of May! _Relena advised that he should have a partner in this next mission since L1 had suffered a large number of fainting citizens in varying sectors, but Wufei never suspected that he would have a more than capable partner already at the scene before him...

* * *

Thank you for reading! This story is cranking itself out pretty quickly...let me know if any value was compromised in its hasty creation and I'll do my best to remedy that. Other than that, I'm looking forward to where this is leading! I'm attempting to take it slow by gradually bringing all the characters in and not just throwing them out there in one shot. Also, I'm trying not to just spit out everything that is happening all at once along with secrets and let the reader decide what strategy people might be using and what not. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed it! ^^ As always, comments and suggestions are graciously welcomed!

angelic aquarian: Thank you for your review! I had intended to make it a surprise but I will admit that this is aiming to be a Minako/Trowa fic. All others are still subject to change although I do have a horrible habit of just settling with the first hinted pairing since I am sometimes incredibly impatient ^^; It is a fault I am actively trying to fix XD Anyhow, I hope this chapter was enjoyable! And thank you again for reading and reviewing!

4Shame


	3. Chapter 3

Coffee houses were easily deemed the favorite hotspot of a particular group of women, their wise eyes and sophistication prevalent in even their quietest days. However, as their group gradually changed, introducing a younger raven-haired former priestess to their graduated ways they found a new niche, their newest companion settling in with ease as she picked up and observed their habits. Sitting in a coffee house, however simple, was such a… classy alternative to the Crown Arcade Rei Hino and her lot of friends often frequented back when it was still standing. In a coffee house there were no boisterous customers ranting about video games, no chipper teenage girls squealing over dangerously handsome boy bands and certainly no grade-school drama floating around to bother customers. Here, there were adults, sitting in their separate booths and calmly discussing various items of _important_ business. And well, who was she kidding, as she, Rei Hino, sat in the booth across from the always elegant Michiru Kaiou and exotically beautiful Setsuna Meioh, she had felt so much older, and dare she say it, slightly cooler.

These guys were definitely the high-society clique, the one people envied and wished they could be a part of but were too intimidated to try or even ask how they might acquire such enviable refinement. Rei supposed she was inducted purely by convenience being as they each shared in a secret life far more extraordinary than the average man could fathom. Nevertheless, as she sipped her cup of tea with her legs primly crossed beneath the table and her stunning amethyst eyes staring blindly out the coffee shop window, she released a pent up sigh.

In the distance she could see an ornately crafted spire peering out over the hills of houses, the white beacon shining magnificently in the sunlight and casting a soothing blanket of light across the acres it towered over. An at ease population wafted through the streets, casually tending to groceries and children as they carted past neighbors and new acquaintances. They were smiling brightly, the action not going unnoticed by the perceptive eyes of a porcelain-skinned woman as her finger unconsciously traced the gold lining of her tea cup. That was the Sanq Kingdom peeking over the hills of houses and it was beautiful, a fact that she could not deny. After all, it would just be a horrible lie if she were to say it was nothing to fawn over especially when that single white spire that sparkled in the distance had been enough to leave her gawking in awe at its infrastructure and design.

The gardens of the Sanq kingdom, she remembered from a recent trip, were lush with breathtaking green foliage as an array of gorgeously scented flowers bloomed in controlled vicinities tended by the talented groundskeepers. Greek columns interlaced with foreign architecture firmly stood at the foundations of the Sanq Kingdom's main wing, twinkling glass windows stretching beautifully towards the sky as velvety pearl drapes glistened through from the inside. Even the cobblestone walkway leading to the entrance was magnificent, each stone looking as though it were picked out individually for its natural luster and shine as they effortlessly withstood the weight of guests and carriages without baring any scratch to show for it. There was hardly any flaw noticeable in all its glory and it had been a somewhat unsettling realization for Rei and even for her dearest friend whose eyes had perplexedly marveled at the brilliance of this kingdom that neither had ever known about prior to their mass reawakening.

Usagi had seemed so stunned, so confused, an image that reflected clearly in the eyes of each her friends and even Mamoru. Rei frowned. The new world order and Preventers thought the Lunar Corporation was out to get them when in reality the members of that Lunar faction were more lost than they had ever been before. The rise of a familiar enemy power, however, is what snapped them out of their confused dance and reined them in to point out that there was still work to be done. Doing this, however, on a public scale was a new experience, one of which they'd have to handle as it progressed. Even with the gatekeeper of time on their side, the future was evidently unclear and largely unset.

And yet, even among their strange awakening and rapidly changing situation as a public organization, they still managed to find time to sit meditatively in a laidback coffee house sipping chai tea, espresso and café mocha with foam.

As the silence drifted amongst the booth, each woman found themselves rapidly consumed in deliberation, their eyes vacant despite their lively positions casually sipping their beverages in plain sight. Rei had theories as to why the outers often spent their time in coffee houses. For one, they tended to be fairly quiet during the day, save the morning where people were rushing for their daily caffeine fix. Otherwise, coffee houses offered quite a serene environment for those with much to think on and even for those that had absolutely nothing trifling with their thoughts. Another reason, she had deduced, was because it was public.

In retrospect, the outers were not the most social though they were admittedly charming when they needed to be and knew from experience what it took to sway people into giving them what they needed be it information or connections to a chain of other, more pivotal figures in the grand scheme of things. So to appear regularly in a casual setting where traffic was steady and regulars took note of other frequent customers, it was a nice way to quietly instill the idea that you were the average citizen. In a coffee house people could keep to themselves without being questioned whereas if you chose to consistently meet in a private setting you were automatically subject to receive pensive speculation about what it is you might be doing behind closed doors…

"I can't help but concern myself over Ami's condition and whether or not it was wise to send her to the South Pacific."

Rei looked up in surprise, catching the rare expression of worry upon Michiru's milky skin where she was usually smiling like a canvas of artistic perfection.

"Well it's a bit late for that," Rei replied, sounding a bit harsh though she hadn't meant to. "She's already on the ship."

"So it seems," Michiru chided, sipping carefully at her coffee. Her aquamarine hair waved around her feminine face, the worry that once resided there now gone and replaced by a mild look of indifference.

Beside her Setsuna sat unaffected, her ruby eyes turning slightly beige as she stared out the shop window. She was undoubtedly peering at the high spires of the Sanq kingdom, Rei assumed, since it had become a silent obsession for each of them.

"Still, I do hope her health holds up." Michiru's sky-blue eyes glinted with light, the small moment somehow catching Rei's gaze. It had been far too quiet at the table, a silence of which was growing in discomfort and not at all welcomed a fact that Rei silently took note of from the well tamed expression Michiru had offered amidst Setsuna's solitary notion to remain transfixed upon that gilded white castle. Though Michiru's concern for Ami may have been genuine, it was not a comment that was simply made to receive comfort for but rather a statement she hoped would ward off this unnatural silence.

"I remember hearing that hurricane season was fast approaching," Rei said, picking up easily on Michiru's intent.

"I heard the same thing," Michiru replied, still casually sipping at her cup as though she were completely unaware that Setsuna wasn't paying attention. "I feel guilty that she had been sent and I stayed. I would have been better-equipped to face that type of weather…"

Rei glanced to Setsuna, sighing as she noticed no change in her position.

"That was my same thought," she admitted, leaning back against the cushioned booth with a deep exhale.

That chamber of secrets nestled inside the olive skinned woman with long, thick myrtle green hair that extended far along her slender frame until layering to an end just above her hips was an unsettling place the senshi often wished they could peer in on but knew they could never do. More guarded than either of them, Setsuna was a fortress of thoughts, her knowledge of the universe impenetrable and frightening though she never made physical indications in front of civilians that she had known such secrets. To the outside she appeared normal though an inexhaustible sense of wisdom had always just _oozed_ from her regardless of how she chose to smile, speak or dress. It was in those moments of silence where those garnet orbs would train themselves on a single object, dissecting it to billions of small pieces and specs of matter that she became evidently other worldly in her perception of life around her. And it was in these moments that her peers had grown weary and nervous with concern about her, always yearning to see what she saw but never knowing. Sure, she was their friend, but even then they were kept at bay as a largely invisible responsibility had weighed down Setsuna's shoulders and no one else's. It was the way it had always been and they reasoned that it was necessary else it would have crumbled centuries ago.

"Ami will be fine."

It was a resolute declaration. One that had sent chills through Rei's fiery soul and even Michiru's sea-faring one. All-knowing and intense, Setsuna's gaze had returned to them, her full blush pink lips pressing against the edge of her porcelain mug as she sipped at her cup of unsweetened coffee. "Besides, Ami volunteered in your stead since the two of you have that important meeting planned with the President of the Winner Corporation."

Michiru smiled wryly to her side, nodding.

"You are perfectly right," she sighed. "I can't believe such an important meeting had slipped my mind."

"Mmhmm," Setsuna hummed unconvinced, stirring her cup thoughtlessly.

Rei had to stifle a scoff, offhandedly reminiscing about the days where she frequented the Crown Arcade with the incessant chatter of Usagi and Minako in her ears. Most often Ami would be behind them, her eyes ravaging the pages of an interesting new book while Makoto walked in stride with eyes lost in a private daydream. She herself would choose to indulge in conversation or just silently walk along with them depending on how she felt that day. She smiled, fondly thinking on how easily she and Usagi used to push each other's buttons. It was especially difficult for either of them to hide their qualms or troubles when they were together and Rei found herself suddenly wishing that she were back to that simple time where she shouted her detestations at Usagi and her pigtailed friend shouted her own arguments just as loudly back. Now, however, times were different.

In a more mature setting, she sat at a table where thoughts and troubles were confined to each their own minds. They knew they should share and let the words air themselves out until a proper solution was agreed upon, but they kept to themselves even when their peers had attempted to coax the truth from their stubborn lips. Instead they were civil and poised and Rei more than anything wished Usagi were there with them. But even then, she doubted much would change. After all, even the clumsy crybaby she often criticized as a teen was different…

Feeling her heart drop, Rei could no longer sit still and _pretend_ things were under control despite the constant haywire that had plagued her mind. She now realized another speculated reason why the outers frequently visited the quiet, public coffee houses found easily in any city. It was to keep from screaming. The strains and gripes of their life missions were brought to coffee houses to be buried beneath silence. This was how they coped. Together, in a place surrounded by those that were unknowingly protected from immeasurable harm, and isolated as they vicariously lived out their more simple dreams through the people they saw outside the window. Rei understood.

When she was a child, she could imagine having trouble accepting it. In a time where her concerns were barred to grade school proportions and her world hardly extended past her Grandfather and the shrine, she didn't seem to think that there was much to give up by accepting her calling as the senshi of Mars. Naïve, she even believed it would become easier with age and when she met the outers they seemed so much more refined, so at home with themselves and their duty. She wanted their conviction, their wisdom. And now she had it. What was funny, she noted with a sardonic scoff, was that she now wished to have her adolescence returned to her. Unfortunately, something so pure has no chance of being recovered once it's tainted with reality.

"Are you leaving?" Michiru asked when noticing Rei push herself up from the booth.

The raven-haired woman nodded wearily, feeling her throat dry as an unexpected weight of pain pierced its way through her chest. Even in the place where she would attempt to hide her scars, it seemed she couldn't stop her heart from feeling afflicted.

"I just need some new air," Rei murmured, shielding her eyes with sunglasses before grabbing her purse. "Call me if something comes up."

She walked away gracefully, her heels clicking rhythmically against the wooden floorboards until the bells rang at her exit. Inside, Setsuna and Michiru remained in the booth, Michiru now positioned across from her ruby-eyed friend. They continued to sip at their coffee, both completely poised and refined despite the war of emotions that waged behind their otherwise charming and unbothered visages.

…

This wasn't exactly her idea of a simple, uncomplicated assignment that Artemis had said would last no longer than the average tiff they had before their magically induced sleep that had lasted through centuries of unforeseen changes. Firstly, what they thought would be a global rest turned out to be a rest just for them which was a discovery they made a moment too late and secondly, the average tiff "back in the day", as they frequently found themselves saying, always included Sailor Moon's stunning attacks to seal the deal. So, as she stood gawking uncomfortably at the dauntingly sleek exterior wherein her most perilous fear was rooted, she unsuccessfully attempted to guess how long this fight might be without the aid of her pigtailed friend.

As the basic units of time tried to cross her mind, seconds gradually graduated to minutes which eventually extended to hours and then old math homework had somehow popped into mind to remind her of another real terror that she had of arithmetic, she sickly shook her head, already forgetting what it is she was trying to do in the first place and suffering a mild condition of amnesia. Her hands had taken an unnoticed habit of trembling uncontrollably, her pupils dilated to such a length that you would have never guessed her natural eye color was a godly emerald. Sweat marred her terror-filled face and though her thick, naturally curled mane shimmered with natural highlights among its ponytail of auburn mystery, it was blatantly obvious that she was far from happy.

"Oh, com'on," was said in succession to a grip that had placed itself securely around the brunette's right wrist. Tight-jawed and unchanging in her expression of detectable dread, the brunette had been pulled along the pavement towards the ungodly creation she had wished would have been dissolved in the years stolen away by a cryogenic sleep alongside her nine comrades. But no, instead of the invention being overturned by more sophisticated forms of travel like teleportation or trains moving at the speed of light, she had to suffer through the fact that her least appreciated object of technology had still existed, the only improvement made being that it could now fly to colonies that were floating around in outer space. It was a fact that had not been well received in our current brunette's eyes as she still struggled to stifle the gaudy hesitation bridling in her gut.

However, the stern and slightly amused, as was told by the smirk garnering her handsome features, sandy blonde insisted she, "…stop being such a poor excuse of an heir to Jupiter and get your ass into that ship so we can get this thing over with!"

Makoto had not been able to form a coherent rebuttal against her friend's abrasive language and rough handling, but when the situation involved airplanes she had a horrible habit of turning into a timid ball of distress with absolutely no means to protect herself. It was the one thing that actually had the capacity of derailing her long practiced skill of bravery against harsh conditions and quite frankly she wished that she could recant her acceptance of this latest mission and curl like a baby beneath her covers until she could just force the memory of this experience far from her mind.

"Are you seriously going to make me carry you onto this plane?"

Makoto gulped, suddenly blinking briefly out of her scared haze and glancing towards Haruka who stood unbothered at the half-way point leading to the aircraft. Incredulous royal blue eyes stared back at her, that mane of sandy blonde billowing in the wind giving her the look of a drool-worthy model as her white collared shirt ruffled around her lithe frame with the sleeves folded up to her elbows. A creased pair of khaki slacks covered her long legs, a black carry on resting against her hip as the strap was slung over a shoulder. Taking a deep breath, Makoto's hand tightened around the handle of her newly gifted bag in the shape of a cuddly brown teddy bear.

Haruka had gotten it for her as a joke in attempts to offend the brunette enough to make her push her fear aside and jump on the flight without hesitation. What she didn't realize, was that Makoto had absolutely no qualms with being termed a wimp when it came to flying and had actually taken a liking to this plush new bag for its versatility and soft texture. It reminded her of home, a place she desperately wanted to be now.

"Makoto," Haruka firmly called out, the impatience evident in the hard tone of her voice.

Like a child, the tall brunette looked towards her, stepping hesitantly forward as she wordlessly started her ascent to face her own personal nightmare.

…

Thank you for reading! As always, comments and suggestions are graciously welcomed!

Nerf-or-Nothing: Thank you for your reviews! I am so stoked Artemis made you squeal XD He makes me squeal too lol and you're right he is so gorgeous in the manga as well as Luna. Those two are like the Hollywood couple, I think, of the Sailor Moon arc. I mean Usagi and Mamoru have always been beautiful together but Luna and Artemis are just plain gorgeous. I just gawk at their attractiveness! I am also glad you liked the way Wufei is described. He's a hard one for me so I always struggle with that ^^; As for Duo, yeah, that guy is one of my favorites! I mean, he's resourceful, has a sense of humor with a dark past and can kick butt so I'm all in! lol Anyhow, I always appreciate your kind, kind words! As for your work here on this site you should get an award! You've breathed life into this section and it is awesome, not to mention inspirational!

Angelofvenus-l3: Thank you for your review! I am so flattered by your kind review and am ecstatic that you've enjoyed the characterizations so far ^^ There wasn't much Minako in this chapter but I hope it was still enjoyable. Thank you again for reading, it is truly much appreciated!

Agoraphobia: Thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad you like it so far and I will do my best to keep it going ^^

angelic aquarian: Ah yes, Ami/Duo ^^ I am in love with those two since they contrast so much but fit together so perfectly! XD I'm also glad that Wufei and Mina's interactions with each other have been reasonable. I always do fear that I may be making things a bit far fetched character-wise so it is a relief to hear that those two are believable in the ways that they act. Anyhow, I hope this chapter was enjoyable and thank you so much for reviewing!

4Shame


	4. Chapter 4

For the entire flight Makoto was a helpless wreck. At every quake of turbulence, every slight shift of some random passenger and even in the barely noticeable flicker of the cabin lights she flinched, her skin growing paler and her pupils all the more dilated.

Haruka hadn't even thought it was possible for someone to be so stiff for so long, but she was blatantly proven wrong as the hour turned into twenty-nine counted that Makoto had unblinkingly sat like a statue, save the occasional movement of her white-knuckled hands. With a groan Haruka did her best to ignore her companion but it was painfully difficult especially when Makoto had decided to place her bone-crushing grip upon the sandy blonde's forearm instead of the fluffy, now over-squeezed, arm of her plush bear.

Angry blue eyes would immediately shoot their way over to the brunette, ready to rebuke her and possibly start a fight. Yet, as she beheld the sight of a shivering woman who wasn't normally so panicked, she would find herself sighing in sympathy as she bit back her tongue and let her forearm endure the crushing grip of her younger friend. Had she known Makoto's phobia of flying was this severe then she might've taken Ami and let Makoto be tossed by the sea on a cruise ship instead.

"You know," Haruka started through grit teeth. "They have sedatives on board for passengers that don't like flying."

Makoto hastily shook her head, gulping down excess anxiety that was refilled by the second.

"No," she shakily responded. "I don't want it."

"It might do us both some good," Haruka sternly pressed out with a frown. "My arm can only take so much."

At the mere mention of her arm, Makoto had instantly released her grip.

"Sorry," she breathed, now pulling the bear in tighter to her chest. She attempted to sigh until her shoulders were suddenly jilted upwards when the flight attendant surprised her in the aisle. She placed an intended hand of comfort on Makoto's shoulder, not realizing what the brunette's natural reaction tended to lean towards when highly stressed. Haruka recognized the mistake immediately, almost instantly finding herself in a strange grappling position where she was crammed between Makoto's knees and the seats in front of them.

Perturbed passengers poked their heads up from their seats ready to verbally attack the person responsible for shaking their chairs but when they met with Haruka's irrefutably intimidating glare, they were scared into silence, sinking back into their seats as though nothing had happened. Other onlookers were bolder, whispering softly about the strange scene and agitating the sandy blonde in the process. And yet, when she'd look their way, they would discreetly avert their gaze as if they had never been looking.

With a scowl she tightened her firm grip upon Makoto's wrists where one hand was placed instinctively on the poor flight attendant's hand that had attempted to sooth her and another on the pristine white collared shirt that had forcibly lost a few buttons between the unrelenting strength of the brunette's slender fingers. A deer caught in headlights, the unsuspecting flight attendant was too shocked to say anything, the color in her cheeks washing straight out and almost turning the colorless shade of pale that had become Makoto's recent complexion.

It seemed like a whole lifetime had passed before the green-eyed woman had finally noticed her hands and loosened them immediately. She stood abruptly from her seat, forcing Haruka even deeper into the backs of the row in front of them and nearly banging her head against the roof as she embarrassedly apologized to the regretful attendant whose badge read "Emma". Slews of curse words and baffled apologies became their legacy along with the picture of a disheveled and innocent Emma whose attire implied she might have been molested along her plight down the aisles. The sight looked so wrong in Makoto's eyes and she couldn't for the life of her stop the words from scrambling their way from her lips while Haruka brazenly kept urging her to shut up.

"It's fine," the mousy attendant blurted, unsuccessfully trying to get past Makoto who was also trying to let her pass though she kept blocking her way with every step. The attendant was losing her composure, creamy brown eyes melting with frustration as she clasped the button-less portion of her shirt shut to keep her under garments from showing.

"I—oh," Makoto made another misstep.

"Sorry, I—" and another misstep.

"This way's—" and another…

Again, Haruka had to intervene, holding Makoto by the shoulders to keep her still so Emma could pass unbothered.

Makoto gulped in deflation, watching as the petite redhead shuffled back behind the curtains of first class and undoubtedly towards the front where she would hopefully have a spare shirt to replace the now unfit blouse she once had. In her first cognitive action completely void of her phobia for planes, Makoto looked to her hand where pearly white buttons had been nestled and Haruka could see a light go off in those jade eyes, which she worked quickly to turn off.

"Don't even think about it," Haruka glowered.

"But," Makoto started in protest, showing a clear picture of the rounded tops of a pearl button. "I could sew these back on."

"After what you just did to her?" Haruka scoffed, taking a seat and forcing Makoto to do the same. "I'll be surprised if we aren't escorted off by police when we land."

She combed through her hair from habit, glancing off-handedly to the side to witness the unabashed stares of strangers.

"What the hell are you looking at?" And there was her charm, never shy and mostly always effective.

The twenty-some-odd year old young adult hastily turned away, mumbling an incoherent "nothing" and hoping not to gain more friction in his direction from the now peeved blonde. She may not have done anything physically outstanding outside of flashing before her friend to stop her from throwing the flight attendant down the aisle, but she had an aura about her that oozed danger and in such a compact place, you had to be a fool not to notice it.

Makoto was frowning in her seat, seemingly blind to Haruka's harsh social conduct and consumed with blush that looked to be burning her pale pigment. She flicked the buttons into the pouch of the seat in front of her, sinking slowly into her chair and sighing. The fear of her predicament was slowly starting to return and Makoto found it to be quite a sadistic joke that the only way she could make such a phobia seem more bearable was by doing something excruciatingly embarrassing and reminiscent of her younger years where she had yet to completely control her strength and accidentally hurt many kids her age on the playground.

"Maybe I will take that sedative," Makoto groaned, rubbing her head as old memories of the unwanted sort came crashing back in large waves.

"Good luck with that," Haruka huffed. "There's likely to be no kind of help on this side after your stunt."

"Of course," Makoto dejectedly replied. She now wondered why her natural reaction was to hurt people when they frightened or surprised her and in a genuinely funny recollection, she was reminded of when the girls and Mamoru had thrown a surprise birthday party for her when she turned 25. She had heard it was exceptionally difficult for Usagi to keep it a secret and Makoto had finally understood why her blonde friend had spent the previous month leaving voicemails on her phone asking if she could bake for a party of 20-30 only to call back a few minutes later to cancel that request. Having their usual caterer be the birthday girl was fairly problematic when she tried to help with planning, but they still managed to pull it off.

When she walked into her apartment she knew immediately that she wasn't alone, multitudes of troubling scenarios running through her mind as her fists tightened. There had been a good number of break-ins reported around her neighborhood and frankly, Makoto would be damned if one of those break-ins happened in her apartment without her say in the matter. So as soon as she heard the first sound of movement, she dropped her things, clenched her fists, and let them soar like torpedoes to their target. The lights shot on briefly afterwards and Makoto was mortified to learn that the person she had assumed was a burglar had actually been Mamoru…a pretty badly beaten Mamoru. Haruka broke the awkward gasps with laughter, Michiru nudging her in the side to stop and Rei scoffing as she mentioned to Minako that this wouldn't have happened if they threw the surprise party at the Crown Arcade like she had suggested.

Mamoru was a good sport though and Usagi hadn't been too appalled as she surprisingly joked that Mamoru should've seen it coming. Those two were at an interesting stage in their relationship and honestly none of the girls were certain if it was a good thing but they had each concluded that it wasn't _bad_. Marking the eventful surprise in their memories for later reminiscing, they all pushed past the unexpected surprise of Jupiter punches and progressed to the real celebrating full of explicit content and plenty entertainment.

It was the year of quarters, as Minako had coined it. Each of the inners would be 25 by the end of the year and she noted it was monumental since it was the halfway point to finding their better halves. No one had understood what she meant even after her long-winded explanation about being fifty and how it was half a century and so on and so on. Mostly the girls drank in celebration (with the exception of Usagi since she had become somewhat of a prune after her latest drunken haze and Ami who had work later that evening) until they could better understand Minako's logic. But even with pints of vodka and kegs of beer, they couldn't quite reach a mutual level of understanding. Not that it mattered much. They ascertained they'd have centuries to figure her out so they felt no real need to rush. It was funny though.

Minako had said it would be a big year for all of them. She hadn't been given visions like Rei or a magic mirror like Michiru, but she truly believed it would be big. And it was, at least for Makoto it had been. She took a chance and bought the lease of an old coffee hut and transformed it into a bakery, slowly integrating her flower arrangements as her budget permitted. In her first big payday she had donated a large sum of money to the reconstruction of the local orphanage that she had frequented weekly with bags of baked goods for the children. It was in that year that Makoto had finally said goodbye to her insecurities and built her courage to do what she thought she never could. She had kissed Motoki.

Her eyes darkened to a deep emerald, the sickness in her stomach mulching in discomfort as she sadly turned her head against the mesh fabric of her seat. The turbulence hadn't even bothered her as her head bobbled discreetly with the rocky shake of the plane. Her heart thumped heavily, the weight slowly shimmying its way down upon her internal organs, crushing, squeezing and suffocating her lunges and she couldn't help but be effortlessly forced to endure the agitation.

It was a big year like Minako had said it would be. She kissed Motoki and he kissed her back. His arms possessively encased her, pinning her back against the wall and he showered her with kisses as though he had been waiting for this moment and she felt it with every placement of his lips, every kneading of his hands, every whisper…She had gasped through every moment, surprised by the intoxication of his scent and lost in the way that his body seemed to have molded itself perfectly to her own. The loneliness she once had fled as though it had never graced her life and for once, she was genuinely at ease. And it was in that same year that they had each been put to rest.

"I'll be back," Makoto hastily stated as she pushed herself up from her seat and rushed to the lavatory. Thankfully, people had parted to let her through, sensing her silent urgency and permitting her access despite their line of waiting. She even pushed past an unsuspecting male, whose peculiar do would have distracted her had she not been in such a rush. From the brief feel of his arm as she squeezed past him and into the lavatory, she could feel the firm pressure of his biceps and even in the minute moment when she looked up she could see that he was tall.

Still, uncaring and reckless she knelt at by the toilet and let the putrid taste of vile barrel from her mouth, an unpleasant retching and gagging echoing out from the cramped stall. Even knowing the door was open and that a line of people were right in hearing range, she couldn't withhold the tears, the contents in her stomach still churning in threats to climb up her throat. The door flew shut afterwards, the stale air circling her in a haze.

She sat motionlessly upon the floor of the lavatory for nearly an hour, unknowingly guarded by Haruka who morosely leant against the outside of the door listening to her sobs. The wake wasn't as seamless as they all liked to pretend it was. And for the time, Haruka thought it was permissible to let Makoto sink into reality for just a moment before she went in to set her on the necessary path. The enemy was present and there could be no one to face this power but them.

…

Despite Ami's subsiding cold she still could not be sated by the satisfaction of healing with the ever-growing depreciation she had for a particularly bright-eyed American man who preferred to be called Edwin on his proper days, Edward on his average day and just plain Ed when he felt like a dirty, greasy handyman ready for kinky exploits and desperate women. Supposedly male sex partners didn't need long names as anything more than a single syllable was justifiably "unsexy" and quite frankly Ami couldn't believe that she had been sick enough to even entertain such an explanation. Surely on a day where she was at her best health-wise, she wouldn't have even stayed past his mention of names with more than one syllable were a bit clumsy for women to scream at the big parts and damn it she still could not believe that she was recalling that portion or any portion of his lecture that she would do well to forget.

But that's how it happens, isn't it? Once smut gets in there, even in a mind as sharp and critical as Ami's, it's hard to purge. So naturally whenever he came around her legs would automatically clamp themselves closed, scarves would be chokingly closer to her neck and all buttons would be securely fastened. Why, with all these precautionary motions she nearly forgot the original intent of this poorly timed cruise.

Regardless, smut or no smut, Ami was determined not to lose focus.

"Good morning doctor."

The blue-haired genius groaned, pulling on her gray college hoody that she had purposely worn. It seemed Mr. Sullivan wasn't the only perverted man on board and it was slightly grueling to realize that though Mr. Sullivan was crude, it was quite possible that he was the most honest crude man aboard.

"Mr. Sullivan," Ami promptly acknowledged, pulling her hood over her lofty head of striking blue hair. This trait had made her extremely self-conscious as of late. A fellow doctor whose elegant accent had lured her to believe he was as refined as she assumed most men of his intelligence were, had easily started conversation with her, mistaking her blue hair as chemically achieved despite its purely natural origin. She should have been suspicious when he commented that she seemed deceptively fragile for a girl of her temperament…Nevertheless, to make a long unpleasant story short, half an hour into the conversation he had asked if she were a fan of S&M and being the moral compass of innocence poor Ami had thought he was referring to some research and development group she had yet to hear about in the medical field.

Yet, by the silly chomp of his teeth he made at her that she was certain he thought was attractive, she deduced that he was not nearly as civilized as she assumed and for once Mr. Sullivan no longer seemed like such an alien specimen. As quickly as she could manage, no longer caring for being polite, she left him to stew in his own ridiculous expectations and released a sigh of relief to see that he wasn't persistent in following his targets. He especially didn't seem so bad when she experienced a similar situation with an accomplished attorney whose silvery hair gave her the impression that such topics were beyond him. Clearly, this cruise was full of surprising revelations.

"Still stewing about how horny these rich guys are?" He asked in amusement, leaning against the railing and smiling that boyish grin that she was beginning to abhor.

She frowned, not too keen on how observant he had been. Before every attempt she had made to talk to a man who had acquired a prestigious career position, as opposed to the measly tow truck-driving task that Ed employed, he would never fail to warn her saying:

"I don't think that's the guy for you, doc. He's a horn dog and you don't seem to be the type to give it away in the sleazy scenario that he would like it."

To which she'd say with a look of disgust, "What in the world are you talking about?"

Then Mr. Sullivan would laugh, shaking his head from side to side and sipping before answering. "Role-play much?"

It was an unfortunate discovery to see that he had been right about every single one of them and Ami was sorely reminded of a childhood saying her father always liked to tell her: Don't judge a book by its cover.

"This is only but a small sample of the male population," Ami replied to his inquiry. "It would be poor analyzing to believe that this group of men reflect the mindset of the majority outside this ship."

Ed scoffed, chortling shortly as his chestnut hair blew with the breeze of the sea.

"Denial is not a good place to live," he said.

Ami shot him a reprimanding glare, her lips pressed into a tight frown.

"I refuse to believe men are so one-tracked and can only think of sex."

"Oh com'on doc," he teased. "You're a scholar aren't you? I've given you my hypotheses and its been proven with every experiment. Don't tell me just because the information came from me that it's irrelevant."

She nodded shamelessly. "You're not a credible resource," she deadpanned without expression and a yawning glance at her watch.

"That really hurts doc," he whined, holding a hand to his chest and sighing.

"Then it has served its purpose," she scoffed, pushing past him and skillfully losing herself in the new flock of women that had taken an inclined adoration for Mr. Ed Sullivan who had been rather neglectful of them lately.

He sighed, knowingly recognizing defeat and letting the group of women swarm around him as his charisma filled his charm with ease. Hooded in a baggy gray sweater with navy blue sweats, he saw Ami's petite figure scurry across the dock at the ships first resting point where she was undoubtedly headed for the nearest village.

Ami had detected spikes in foreign energy miles before the docking point, her body anxious to scope out the uncharted territory for any clues as to where this enemy might be. With the awakening their powers had matured drastically, the previous strains gone as they found an almost overwhelming surge of power seep through their veins. It was a surprisingly refreshing sensation but when their first pillar of opposition in centuries challenged them, they had realized that they weren't the only ones that had progressed in strength.

Still, old habits had continued to reign true as the enemy was still bent on gathering human energy to exact their plans.

Taking one cautious step after another, Ami had kept her icy gaze trained on the line of trees that neared with every pace. There was an eerie silence that loomed from the shadows and with a resigned exhale, she pressed forward with the fog that walked directly behind her.

…

The demon had been boisterous, shooting a signature flare through the sky and marking its presence like a beacon of pride. The black and white flash briefly pigmented the sky colorless and Ami had to hold back a scowl as the discoloring slowly faded to leave the horizon in its natural shades of light. It had become a horrible trend amongst this group to signal all species around them, human or inhuman, whenever they were met with a particularly skilled opponent.

This observation was first catalogued in what the Sanq kingdom had called the Gray war, referencing the strange flare that had pervaded their skies and set them on edge. Hence, it was difficult to pass off such a phenomena as pure mysticism when the world had recognized it in fear as a sign that trouble was a rye.

Shards of ice fell from the tropic leaves of the forest to the feet of an exhausted doctor, her eyes heavy with fatigue as she took a moment to breathe before sprinting back to the ship. With a signal like that, the captain of the cruise was certain to pick up his anchor any moment now and the last thing she needed to do was get left behind on an island far from home.

Ed Sullivan's expression changed in the blink of an eye. As soon as the sky flashed to black and white, the precepts of his current mission were silently reiterated in his mind, his fists clenching in regret that he hadn't ventured out into the village like he should have. The crew and passengers were startled with fear, staring with stalled breath at the fading sign only to be left standing in an unwarranted stupor of anxiety. Amidst their quiet haze and delayed reactions, Ed stowed away to a private hall, now oblivious to the cruise aspect of his cover and even the petite blue-haired doctor. Strange occurrences were affirmatively at large among the islands of the South Pacific and Duo was now convinced that this mission wasn't a complete sham. With his gun securely holstered beneath his clothing and his trusted gadgets in his pack, he rushed off the ship to see if he might catch a glimpse of one of these Lunar Corporation associates.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Currently I am uncertain whether or not I like the ending bit of this chapter. I may come back later and fix it a bit but for now I suppose it'll do. As always, I appreciate the time you've taken to read and of course comments and/or suggestions are graciously welcomed.

Teeny: Thank you for your review! ^^ I am truly flattered ^^;;

Nerf-or-Nothing: Thank you for your review! The last chapter was pretty short and unfortunately that seems to be the trending length I think for this story XD I don't know why but this one is coming out in chapters averaging around 3,500 words when other stories have double that average. I guess its just me experimenting with different paces and what not. Who knows? XD Ah and yes, Makoto does get much trouble from me ^^; It is a terrible habit...Nevertheless, your reviews are always so great to read and for that I am eternally grateful!

TopazDragon: Thank you for your review! Your words of encouragement are always so helpful! As for Ami, she's just a bit under the weather. ^^ As for Minako, I think its going to be a lot of fun to get deeper into her situation when the time comes. I am certainly looking forward to that part but it may not come for some time because this is moving pretty slowly I think ^^; But I'll just try to keep trucking through. Anyhow, the confusion among both parties is also something I look forward to exploring but until then, thank you so much for reading, reviewing and writing! There is so much inspiration flying around here that I am just so humbled by it all!

And once more, thank you all for reading and reviewing!

4Shame


	5. Chapter 5

Long dark eyelashes were naturally hers to bat and she did it unknowingly as she blinked unaware of the effect it had on the men that had happened to catch her in their mists. It was a charm that she hated, one she never asked for, but it could only be expected she supposed. After all (and she meant this in the least conceited way possible), if it weren't for her outward appearance being so easy on the eye then she might've enjoyed a solitary life where glances were never taken more than once in her direction and she could escape into a route of her own choosing without any hindrances. She was somewhat partial to her privacy and exclusivity in the people she chose to associate with. She only had room for the senshi, her princess, Mamoru and the demons that sought to take away life for their own musings.

Yet, here she was, standing amongst a ballroom of strangers like the socialite that she was not, holding a flute carelessly in one hand as her lips were finely pressed into an unenthused line.

The discoloring sky in the South Pacific had raised waves of concern in the public, their panic suddenly pressuring their political representatives to inquire of Relena about the recent activity of the Lunar Corporation. Another observation had been recorded as a reason why these _Shadow Warriors,_ as the public liked to call them, chose to shoot off the strange signal that faded color instantaneously to a canvas of gray and nothing else. It was a sign that a massacre had taken place.

Rei could understand the reason they had mistakenly recorded this observation whereas Ami had done the research and found its true meaning. Before the senshi had returned, Shadow Warriors would discolor the sky to signal they had found a worthy opponent. However, these worthy opponents most often ended up dead or barely saved with a horde of bodies in their wake which rendered the sole explanation behind Earth's notion that this signal was a homing beacon to retrieve their dead.

Setsuna and Ami deducted these Shadow Warriors were a branch of a larger set of demons whose purpose was to find anyone with power that could possibly oppose them. The others had been alarmed by this piece of information and from then it was clear that their enemy had graduated in strategy and now employed patience along with tact. It seemed maturing wasn't just a practice for humans, though Rei currently wished it had been. She preferred the days where things were predictable, when the enemy simply wanted to take over the world and would try to achieve the task in a span of weeks. However, this was not the case for their current enemy. They suspected their roots grew far deeper than the average monster hence they were forced to withstand the taxingly public relations as this Lunar Faction in the new world order manned by a young Relena Peacecraft who was a mere year older than they were in appearance.

She sighed, placing the flute on the tray of a passing waiter and readjusting her ornately designed mask for this staunch masquerade. Red chiffon rippled like flames from her bodice, a heart of peach softly interrupting her fiery garment beneath the asymmetrical slit in the front. Her gait was smooth, her glide appearing as though she was hovering across the floor, her dainty feet never once touching the ground. Eyes scoured the cream surface of her skin, raven-black hair gently encasing her shoulders like waves of silk. Even behind the mask that concealed her identity without fault, the curious shade of amethyst that existed in the heart of a searing fire shimmered through the gold, captivating any poor man that dared to look.

So was Rei's charm, always there but never wanted. She refused the hands of many that had asked her to dance but she could not tell you why she had said yes to this particular man.

Perhaps it was because of the familiar aura she felt when he approached her, the aura of a veteran soldier whose eyes had been opened by war. Or perhaps she approved because she grew tired of saying no and he seemed as unwilling to be present as she was so she thought it couldn't hurt.

Regardless, like how the Shadow Warriors were still plain youma that needed to be put down, this was still a ball of which she could not escape without at least one dance. Setsuna would scold her otherwise and frankly, Rei never liked to see her angry.

She was to appear normal, though she was there on business, and hopefully, she could return home before the stroke of midnight and resume her solitary activities that she preferred above all else.

"Please," she found herself muttering almost nervously, her hand gripping his in a vice-like fashion. "I don't enjoy swapping partners. I'm not really the social type."

She heard him scoff and when another male had released his previous partner to exchange with them, she was pulled in closer, his free hand resting on the small of her back as he silently shook his head towards the other to signify they wouldn't be changing. Relieved, she let out a sigh, thanking him in the process and still swaying to the music.

"For someone who isn't too social, you have quite a loud dress."

She had to laugh, even if it was brief.

"Would you believe it if I said it was the only one I had owned that seemed appropriate for the occasion?"

She noticed a small smirk tug at his lips and all at once she was suddenly more aware of his firm arms that had steadily begun to pull her closer, which stoked a fire that she wasn't quite sure was safe. The pressure on her hip became more pronounced, his hand unflinchingly returning to the small of her back to make her spine tingle with fervor.

"Well, if you only have one might as well make it memorable." He had said, but she found that she wasn't really listening as her focus had zoomed towards stifling the sensation that only grew more peculiar when she took the time to glance into his hardened blue eyes that stood out against the black canvas of his mask. Slightly unkempt brown hair covered the expanse of his head reminding her of the color of the old wooden floorboards of the Hikawa Shrine.

Instantly, her heart had dropped to the pit of her stomach, forcing her strange feelings aside and making her wish she had put up more of a fight when it was decided that she would have to meet with Relena on this night. Her pace slowed and he must've noticed because she suddenly found herself being pulled deeper onto the dance floor where the music had changed to an up tempo sound and other couples were decidedly much more risqué with their choice of movement.

"How good are you at following?" He asked.

She scoffed. "I'm more of a leader," she haughtily quipped. "But I'm feeling generous."

"Hn," he half-laughed. "I'll try not to disappoint you."

She gasped when he twisted unexpectedly to dip her in a slowed and deliberate fashion. Her heart jumped in her chest as she felt a strong arm steadily holding her back and something primal had rejoiced when she felt his other hand run from the end of her taut posterior and along her thigh. He tugged at her knee, bringing it up with the airy fabric of her dress vulnerably molding against his touch and as she rose from being bent backwards, he had secured her leg dangerously around his hip, a maddening look of smug achievement gracing his stern blue eyes and she couldn't help but to shiver.

Normally, she wouldn't allow such an invasion and the portion of her that wanted to angrily push his hands off her had somehow been buried by the overwhelming power of curiosity.

He moved with grace she had not expected for such a solid soldier and as he stepped, she matched him, her stamina exhilaratingly tested as she hypnotically curved and turned with the look of a practiced dancer. Tango, as she once learned, was quite a heated dance and from a young age, she had always enjoyed the nonverbal communication above all else.

However, she was still uncertain that this particular moment of communication was sound as she felt his hands roam around her body and in a frightening revelation she had found that she was beginning to enjoy it. Her mind had long since abandoned her, inhibitions gone as her back was flush against his hard chest, hips swaying purposely against him with one hand slightly raised to the right in his hand and the other trailing with his left hand that had started its fruitful path down her flat abdomen.

She could feel his hot breath brushing the sensitive skin of her neck but she must have been hallucinating because she could have sworn she might've felt his lips against the apex of her neck and her shoulder in a sweet kiss. Yet she didn't have much time to think on that. She was whipped around to face hime, instantaneously molded to his body and she could now see the clouded haze of his eyes. She imagined her eyes must've looked similar because she understood the feeling entirely and she still wasn't sober enough to force herself to an escape.

They continued their dance, his head lowered into the curve of her neck as though he had been searching for her scent. She supposed she welcomed it because she hadn't done anything to ward him away. As the last chorus sounded, he forced himself to withdraw and once more she found herself spinning, the room getting lost as her focus refused to span past this moment.

In a succession of movements, she last found herself panting in his arms, her amethyst embers burning into his Prussian blue gaze. His forehead was pressed against her own, a surprisingly sweat-free head and she wondered why she felt slightly disappointed that she hadn't made him work harder. They stalled to separate, the tips of their noses dancing in deliberation of whether their lips should do the same. Seconds evaporated and he was decidedly closing in on her, mask in tact and in the very last moment, she had realized the irregularity of this position and turned her head away and pushed free.

"Going somewhere," he said, sounding faintly gruff as he straightened himself up to detract from the fact that he was somewhat disappointed.

"Yes," she answered. She had meant to sound firm but it somehow came off uncertain. "I have to meet someone."

He raised an eyebrow, not completely thrilled by the statement.

"And what man have I to be jealous of for snatching you away?"

She scoffed; her usual nature returning and her body freed from its prior melting. With a snide smirk she shook her head, covering her mouth as she giggled in a move reminiscent of Michiru's adorable habit.

"A man?" She mused aloud with a smile. "Good sir I'm here to meet a woman."

She let that be her parting phrase and feeling uncharacteristically amused, she ascended the ballroom steps to find a restroom where she would have to completely reposition herself in preparation for the meeting that was to take place in secret.

He had half a mind to follow her but refrained for unmentioned reasons and opted to stare after her. It had been a while since he had found such raw attraction and he doubted it would be one he'd be forgetting about any time soon.

…

Minako yawned, leaning lazily back against an iron shelf as she sorted through old documents and skimmed cases that ranged from mild complications to full out global chaos. It had been interesting to learn about what had taken place in her time asleep but despite the entertainment, each report, file and photo had done nothing to really help her find the reason of their current predicament.

Sure, Minako didn't expect to find some ancient file hidden amongst the archives that would reveal to her the purpose of the senshi in this new age and how they should conduct themselves, but she had hoped that perhaps she could find something else…something potentially more gratifying…

You see, though she had been focused on studying the history of wars and important battles that had passed in this generation's lifespan for the sake of being updated, she still had other motives to be here.

Months after they had awakened, it was discovered that only hard records of families centuries in age had survived and were collected and moved to a secure safe held within the heart of the Preventer's main headquarters.

Debates on how they should go about retrieving these records were grievously done and after many arguments spent in ghastly hours of the evening, it was mutually decided that the best plan of action was to be as inconspicuous as possible. It was true that they could have chosen to break into the Preventer's headquarters, steal the safe of documental history and stage it as an act done by the newly discovered clan of Shadow Warriors but the idea of deceit being their first motion made in their creation of the public Lunar Corporation didn't bode well with either of them.

Hence, with meddling and quiet observation, they had managed to find a task that was easily overlooked and yet had irrefutable access to the very room that they had wanted. A seventy-six year old woman who had manned the front desk since the creation of the Preventer's corps was setting to retire and in her place they had orchestrated that one of the senshi should vie for that position. Thus, Minako was present, again locked inside the vault of history and still drawing up zero results after nearly a year of searching.

What was she looking for, you ask? Well, sometimes she wasn't quite sure herself until her mind would drift to the first time she had recognized the reality of their situation.

It wasn't spoken aloud often and when it was it wasn't uncommon to hear it mentioned in a joking manner. Such a sore topic always seemed deceptively light when they chose to laugh about it but as the truth would sink into their chests, their smiles would dissipate only to be replaced by grim expressions.

What happened to my family when I was gone? Did Motoki ever marry after I had disappeared? Did Shingo grow to be the soccer superstar he had always said he'd be? Was my mother okay when I hadn't returned the calls she was likely to have made when not hearing from me for so long? What happened to my grandfather when he knew I wasn't coming back? Did he even realize that I wasn't coming back? Or did he look for me until his last day? Did they search for me? If they had…did they ever stop looking? Did they burry me?

And the unanimously uncomfortable question: When all was said and done, were they okay?

Tears would sometimes soundlessly make trails along the smooth curves of her cheeks and her blue eyes would turn to a river of sorrow. She remembered once thinking how much she had resented her parents.

She had hardly seen them and whenever she had, her mother was always so abrasive, yelling at her father for his inefficiencies and claiming he hadn't made enough money to support them. Minako's father was easily suckered into believing his wife's words and would then clear out his leisure to resume working so he could make more money for it only to fall into her mother's hands. She despised how willing he was to please her and she hated how selfish her mother was to keep asking for more artificial sustenance. Yet, here she was, crying over them and wondering if they had been okay without her.

On holidays, she would reluctantly return home by counsel of her feline companion. Whenever she walked into the door of that familiarly oppressing house she had immediately felt trapped, tension rising even before she was met with either of their faces. Dinner would be deceivingly kind as she'd put on an act for her mother's friends that had joined them for the evening. But when they'd leave and her mother would nit-pick about the many flaws she had noticed, Minako could not contain herself. Fights were common conclusions to their gatherings and Minako would always storm off, telling her mother she was outrageous and scolding her father for letting her walk all over him. She would swear to them that she'd never come back but in the end it was never true. Artemis wouldn't allow it and in retrospect even if he hadn't been there, Minako was certain she wouldn't keep herself away from her parents either.

It was a strange fact. One that she sometimes couldn't explain. However, the reason was clear in her head today. The reason why she had cared so much…

It was the look in her father's eyes when he had noticed the purpling bruise upon her fair skin behind her sleeve and asked who had done it to her. It was the way his voice shook when he inquired if it was a boy, if something had happened, if she was okay. It was the rare occasion when he found her awake in the kitchen and they snuck out without mom's knowledge to run for ice cream. It was those nights when he had peeked into her room at random hours to make sure she was still there, safe and in bed. He would check the locks on her windows, pick up the clothes from the floor to place them in the hamper, and brush her hair from her face before softly whispering, "Sweet dreams my little sun flower." Sometimes she'd be awake enough to hear him say it and it would always surprise her that her megawatt smile afterwards had failed to set the dark room aglow and tip him off that she wasn't quite asleep yet.

It was the way he made her feel when she was a child and had fit so easily into his lap. A father's embrace that could melt away all her troubles is what she adored most.

Even her mother had her guarded ways of loving her. When Minako had been rushed to the hospital after fainting during a volleyball game, she remembered waking up to find her mother clinging to her hand as she slept. Her unkempt hair was strange as was the plain, uncolored features of her face. Her mother who always cared about her appearance, the woman who hadn't dared to step outside her bedroom door without makeup, hair and a bright look on her face was there, sitting in a stiff little hospital chair and looking far from what she did on any normal day. Minako had remained quiet for hours, staring at her mother's unpainted face, tracing the fine wrinkles and hints of freckles she had never known existed and holding onto her foreign hand that was surprisingly calloused. Her mother had been so embarrassed when she awoke without her usual face, but Minako had never seen her more beautiful than she was that day.

She often wondered where these memories were when she had spiraled into anger-filled arguments with them. She sometimes questioned how such moments could have slipped her mind when contemplating whether or not she should return home for the holidays. Then she would ask why now that they were gone, these memories were the easiest ones to find whenever she stopped to think of them…

She sighed, pushing the useless box of files back in its place and monotonously grabbing another. Her heart was heavy but she had been living with it for so long that she was nearly numb to the pain.

With a shake of her head and a determinedly new focus, she willed herself to open the next box.

Slightly amused, she scoffed, smiling for the first time tonight.

"The Peacecraft family tree," she laughed, glancing from the box in her hand and flashing a light to read the labels on the boxes after it.

A whole trail with the Peacecraft family name was lined up and stacked to safely compose perhaps one sixth of thousands of records in the steely room of history. Suddenly fatigued and exasperated, Minako slumped slightly forward, rubbing her head with a groan.

"This is gonna be a challenge…"

And so it was that she had begun to scale back from Relena and her less publicly known brother Milliardo to see what roots had been responsible for their foundation.

* * *

Thank you for reading. I'm having fun with this one though it may not read as fun exactly ^^; But I suppose there's quite a bit of sadness running along here and hopefully its not too...annoying? I don't know. Anyhow, I tried my hand at writing a dance scene XD It is a bit nerve-wrecking and I'm not too sure it fits in but I sort of think it does. If not, feel free to let it be known! Please. ^^ Nevertheless, again thank you for reading. All comments, questions or concerns are graciously welcomed.

TopazDragon: I am so glad you caught the brief mention of Usagi and Mamoru! I literally jumped for joy when reading you had picked up on that XD I've been practicing dropping clues as discreetly as I can manage so I can bring them up later ^^ Small clues like that always get me stoked so I thought I'd give it a try! Right now with this story I feel like I'm still just working on setting the stage and the real action hasn't happened yet. For someone like me who gets pretty impatient I am always fighting with myself about speeding things up, not speeding them up and all that in between ^^; Duo and Ami's situation is the most entertaining for me to write at the moment and I can't wait to work more with them. I think they are gradually becoming my favorite pairing above all else which surprises me. Nevertheless, you deserve all the recognition you receive! You're an awesome writer ^^. thank you so much for your kind review! It is always much appreciated!

4Shame


	6. Chapter 6

With a hopeful sigh, a young woman just shy of seventeen dismissed herself to a private corner, her chipper blonde companion 7 years her senior slightly preoccupied with a collection of Swedish chocolates on the table.

Deep violet hair bobbled around her pale chin, a pair of eyes adrift just below her bangs echoing a soft lavender hue of color. When she was certain she was out of anyone's hearing range, she pulled out a silver-plaited watch baring the ominous sign of Saturn. Their plastic fused with rubber digital watches had been replaced by fancier styles of wrist-wear, which did them well.

It appeared the old watches were somewhat outdated and quite simply a bit childish. So you could imagine how it felt for the older senshi to pull out or sport the communicator that made them appear as though they were still stuck in the past. Such a watch may have been acceptable for young teenagers but it was not viewed in the same light for a woman in her mid-twenties trying to find work in corporate Japan or elsewhere. The only one that was able to get away with wearing something so youthful had been Usagi, which wasn't too difficult for the girls to understand.

Nevertheless, it was with this newly designed watch that this petite violet haired teen had huddled into a corner to see who had been paging her.

"Setsuna," she quickly acknowledged. "Tell me you've called to say we're needed back immediately."

Desperation was not a tone that young Hotaru often employed but it was clearly drenching every syllable of her statement. Briefly amused, Setsuna released a small laugh.

"I'm afraid not," the ruby-eyed woman replied with a smile.

Hotaru frowned, the glimmer of hope in her eyes now completely decimated.

"Well then, to what do I owe this pleasant surprise," she said in deflation. Many lessons with Michiru about cordial conversation seemed to stick to her subconscious much more than she had originally realized.

"I'm curious to know how your…_vacation_ is going with our prince and princess."

Hotaru jumped, completely surprised by the crafty ways of her princes who had managed to sneak up on her quite successfully.

"You mean Usagi and Mamo-chan," Usagi corrected. She lovingly draped an arm around Hotaru's shoulders, squeezing just a pinch to show how much she loved her. "We're all friends, Setsuna," Usagi pointed out. "So stop referring to us as people you're not close to. Prince and princess are such closed off titles!"

"Of course, milady," Setsuna responded from habit.

"See, there you go again!" Usagi pouted, pointing an accusatory finger in the direction of Hotaru's communicator. "Do we mean nothing to you Setsuna?" Usagi asked with a frown.

"You mean the utmost to me, Usagi-_hime_," Setsuna sincerely stated without hesitation.

Usagi had to slap a hand to her forehead, Hotaru silently laughing at Setsuna's set in stone ways. It was quite an amusing sight to see Usagi scolding Setsuna, a view that Hotaru had been warmed by. It had been some time since something so light-hearted had occurred and suddenly she was overwhelmed with anxiety when she heard the front door open.

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi cheered in mid-scolding, flashing a strange smile that Hotaru hadn't liked since its first birthing. It was guarded, less genuine and awkward upon Usagi's cream skin and sparkling blue eyes. That smile didn't belong there and Hotaru wondered where Usagi's real smile had skittered off to.

"Usako," he said softly, appearing in the doorway with a handful of gifts to add to the piles of useless trinkets cluttering the household. "I found some things I thought you might like."

She gasped and Hotaru's nightmare was reborn as she watched the two in this recently installed routine.

"It's so beautiful!" Usagi would squeal. "Thank you so much, Mamo-chan."

"Anything for you, Usako," Mamoru would reply as he retreated back to the doorframe to watch her as she sorted through the shopping bags. His midnight blue opals would be heavy, masked in a façade that Hotaru couldn't quite describe properly.

She hated this though. She hated everything about it. It wasn't right. It didn't _feel_ right.

Hotaru's ears perked when Setsuna's solemn voice found its way to her hearing and she cowered from the room where the royal pair pranced in their uneasy dance. They came out here for distance from their duties. They came out here for self-evaluation away from the new strains of this perplexing present. So why did Hotaru feel like they were getting nowhere?

"Is everything alright out there?" Setsuna had asked through the communicator.

Hotaru paused for a moment, watching the scene between her precious Prince and Princess unfolded before her eyes. Their smiles were broad but their eyes spoke of a different tale…

"No," Hotaru had whispered, her heart cracking under the pressure.

She remembered looking up to Usagi and Mamoru, a pair that had survived a millennia of enemies that tried to tear them apart. A pair that would do anything for each other and showed her first hand what an enviable love was. A pair that had given her strength and hope that such a bond was irreversible and could never be destroyed. A pair that the senshi cherished…

"What's wrong?" Setsuna asked, snapping Hotaru from her train of thoughts.

The violet haired teen shook her head, pushing the tears that wanted to be shed away and reforming her answer.

"I meant to say there's no reason to worry," she lied with a feigned smile that she must have inherited from her prince and princess. "Everything's fine."

She watched as Setsuna nodded, muttering something to the effect of stay safe but Hotaru wasn't quite certain what it was. From her spot down the hall she stood staring into the ominous room where Usagi's hand had shivered from Mamoru's accidental touch, and a piercing expression of pain flashed across her eyes before she again covered it with a shining pair of expensive sunglasses that came with a forced smile and faked happiness.

000

Azure eyes shot open the moment realization had struck that she was unconscious.

Panicked and unaware, she snapped up from the bed, surrounded by a tidy room that was unfamiliar to her. A plain brown desk sat neatly in the corner with a wooden chair pushed into place. Beside it stood a tall shelving unit that had been nailed to the wall. By the gentle sway she felt affecting the gravity of her core, she derived that she was aboard the cruise ship.

How she had gotten here, however, was not something she easily recalled. Furthermore, the room she had now found herself in was even more perplexing.

In search for clues, she turned her head from side to side to survey the area. To her dismay, apart from the desk, shelving unit (which had been empty save for a life jacket) and the twin-sized bed she currently occupied, there wasn't a single item present that suggested this room had belonged to someone else.

Slowly, it seemed, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and stumbled slightly to her feet with an unexpected shift in the boat. It was times like those that she had been grateful for her immunity to seasickness. Speaking of sicknesses…

She immediately raised a hand to feel her forehead, checking for clamminess and heat. She felt nothing. Curious blue eyes shot back to the bed, now taking notice of a damp cloth that rested upon the pillow. She assumed that at one point she must have had that on her forehead and suddenly, the question of how she got here had shot to the forefront of her thoughts.

The inquiry of who was responsible for bringing her to this room had been a delayed focus, but eventually Ami had thought this was more important than the how. To find answers, she first went to the bathroom, once again disappointed to find it had been spotless. Not even a single strand of hair was left within the shower drain and you can believe she was thorough with her investigation because she had broken out her visor in disbelief. Whoever owned this room, she reasoned, had an obsessive-compulsive disorder for cleanliness.

Pressing her visor away, she decided to return to the bedroom where the only mess had existed in the twisted covers by her doing. Even with an unmade bed, the room remained shiningly clean and it made her a bit nervous. Ami imagined that even Makoto would have been impressed, and that was saying something!

Makoto was to clean houses what Ami was to academics: pure genius. Slightly unsettled by the aspect that there existed someone else that could rival Makoto's sparkling reputation for clean rooms, Ami moved towards the closet. Logically, if there was nothing inside there then this room had belonged to nobody but herself (at least for the time that she was unconscious that is).

With an apprehensive sigh, she opened the closet, exhaling in surprise when a single black duffle bag sat patiently upon the uncluttered floorboards. She didn't know why she was so surprised. Perhaps it was because she expected it'd be empty or maybe it was because the bag was so small, either way she couldn't be certain.

Without hesitation she fell to her knees, unzipping the bag immediately afterwards and raising an eyebrow as she pulled out a black garment by the shoulders.

"A priest shirt?" She muttered to herself, trying hard to scan her memory for anyone that would own such a garment. Every face she had seen aboard the ship had darted through her brain, women included, but she couldn't for the life of her derive the potential owner. Pious wasn't exactly a trait she had found on this cruise so she was led to believe that perhaps she had overlooked someone during her first week…

"My, my doc, I woulda never pegged you for the snooping type…"

She cringed the moment she heard the voice, her shoulders suddenly knotted with tension, as she was caught red handed in the act. Her brain was befuddled with haywire, every preconceived notion of him getting thrown off by the single shirt of fabric in her hands and by the pristine condition of this room.

Unaccustomed to being slow to think, she could do little but blush uncharacteristically and unsuccessfully attempt to play dumb as she dropped the shirt back into the bag and whipped herself around to look at him. He seemed rather calm as he leant against the entranceway, which she hated, and his handsome smile somehow managed to light up the striking color of his eyes.

His plain white t-shirt was as clean as the room around him, his sinewy frame tall in comparison to her and his scent fresh like cotton. She gulped, trying desperately to compose herself.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

It was the first question that came from her sputtering lips and she winced with embarrassment that she'd ask something she had already known the answer to. Of course it would be him that had her in their room, it was Fate's way of torturing her. The very man she was certain she had pegged turned out to be a complete conundrum and she was certain some mythical path-weaver was out there laughing hysterically at her as she stumbled to get out of this unwanted situation.

"Aw, doc, you really hurt my feeling ya know?" He pouted, blue eyes glittering with merriment. "It almost seems as though you're disappointed that this room belongs to me…"

"I-" she stammered, not quite sure why she was ashamed when she had been giving him the cold shoulder since she realized he was aboard the ship. "I'm simply aghast that such a garment would be in your possession." And then it clicked like a thousand headlights simultaneously coming to life in a pitch black parking lot.

"It's a costume for sex, isn't it?"

She was stunned by the dark expression that crossed his usually playful stare as a shiver ripped through her spine. She stepped back when he moved towards her to pick up the shirt and fold it back in its place.

"That's kinky babe," he said in a tone that was unfamiliar to her. A tone that was frigid and drenched with ire. "But it's not really my style."

She let the question drop when she had sensed that she struck a nerve. By the aura in the room she felt unwelcome, a great contrast to how he seemed when he was so laxly leaning against the door frame with that harmless smile.

He closed the closet door with a quiet sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose before bursting into an awkward laugh.

"You don't know how to make a bed, do you?" He asked, turning towards the bed and watching her as she did the same.

Without waiting for an answer, he walked over to the mattress, pulling off blankets, sheets and even pillow covers.

"No matter," he said, still sounding like a foreigner that she had never before heard. "I was meaning to wash these anyways."

"L-let me help," she spurted out in one breath, her legs feeling stronger now as she rushed across the floor.

It was strange that she felt guilty for assuming the clothing she found was a costume and for the life of her she could not deny the curiosity she now harbored to discover what purpose that garment had served. Was he really a priest? If he was, then she imagined it wouldn't be too difficult for her to resume the cold shoulder treatment given his previous behavior. Otherwise…well, honestly, could there be any other explanation? Who carried around a suit like that unless they were some type of priest or priest in training?

Feeling slightly eased by her mental deliberations, Ami sighed, taking the washcloth, four pillowcases and a sheet while Duo carried the comforter and another woolly blanket that was frayed at the edges. Quietly they walked in tandem, Ami behind Duo whom she only knew as Ed, towards the laundry room.

The halls were unoccupied; a fact that had startled Ami, and surprisingly, Ed had caught onto her confusion.

"You remember that flash in the sky at our last stop?" He asked over his shoulder, looking friendlier than he had when she first offended him.

"Yes," she nodded in recollection.

"Well, most of the passengers panicked and pretty much attempted to overtake the ship and set sail away from the flash. Basically, to make a long story short, they got stupid and hurt each other, some fainted and now the medical wing is packed with people needing treatment."

Ami laughed a bit, Duo doing the same as they both found themselves eased into a side-by-side walk.

"I don't know if I should be relieved or disappointed that I missed it," Ami smiled with a scoff.

"Be relieved," Duo replied. "It was an outbreak that would have severed your faith in humanity."

He was probably right. People did act rather callously when frightened.

"Ed," Ami said softly, feeling shy as she hugged the sheets and pillowcases closer to her body.

"Hm?" He hummed in response, not quite noticing her slightly abashed self.

"Thank you," she started, her cheeks reddening despite her constant mental screams not to. "For everything."

Duo smiled, glancing at the blue-haired doctor and shrugging.

"I do what I can for the ladies," he winked, returning back to his nature she had become accustomed to.

Suddenly, it didn't seem so annoying.

"You didn't have to go to such lengths to help me, like taking me to your room," she said.

"Oh yes I did," he said with a scoff and she raised an eyebrow. By the perplexed expression on her face, he knew he had to explain.

"Your room looked like it was ransacked by robbers," he exclaimed, "I couldn't just leave you in there knowing they might return."

"Did they take anything?" Ami asked in shock.

"Not from what I could see," Duo shrugged. "I mean, there was still a laptop left on the desk, a bag of your high tech doctor gadgets and who knows what else. But I'll tell you this, those robbers weren't very good thieves…"

Once Duo had mentioned all the important items that were still accounted for, a deep blush had crept onto her cheeks. No, robbers weren't responsible for that mess. Actually, it was quite possibly all her fault.

"Were there socks splayed across the floor by the bookshelf?" She discreetly asked.

"Come to think of it," Duo nodded, "Yeah, there was."

"And pajamas by the open dresser drawers…" Ami prompted.

"Mmhmm," he sounded, now growing suspicious.

"And a moldy sandwich on the nightstand…"

"My god doc, don't tell me you're responsible for all that!"

"It was a test to see what types of preservatives they put in the food aboard the ship. It was strictly scientific!" She defended.

"And what about the clothes all over the place?" He asked as he noticed her pace quickening.

"Organized chaos," she briefly explained, her pace putting her ahead by a few steps.

Duo laughed in amusement.

"Well, you sure know how to make a mess of things," he chimed happily. "Maybe some time when you get the chance you can come over and teach me a few things, huh? We could both get dirty together…"

And he was back, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively and smirking that smirk that Ami despised.

She stopped right inside the laundry room, her sudden halt forcing him to do the same as she whipped around to face him. A sneaky grin crept across her lips and Duo couldn't help but be pleasantly alarmed.

"I suppose it is only fair that I give back after all you've done for me," she said with a feigned innocence that he was soaking up by the second.

"Well, you don't have to," he drawled curiously. "But it would be nice…"

She smiled. "Then why don't I repay you now," she reasoned with a shrug, beckoning him closer with a slight tilt of her head. "No use in waiting, right?"

In retrospect, he could see point blank that this was a trap. But being an "in the moment" type of guy, he was blinded by his urges below the belt. Walking forward to excitedly encase the petite blunette in a coveted laundry room tryst, he had only seen the malicious look in her eyes in the last second and by then it was too late.

Before he could even get a single finger along her smooth skin, or a breath across her neck, he was stopped by the harsh slam of the wooden laundry room door that rammed into his nose and almost snatched his fingers.

"Next time you find me unconscious on a shore," Ami said through the door. "Leave me there."

He huffed indignantly.

"So you purposely fall unconscious on beach shores waiting for a rescuer?" Duo prodded with a scoff. "That's a pretty cheap trick for a supposedly high-minded doctor."

"What?" She yelled through the door.

"Well you said next time, which means you plan to fall asleep on a beach again soon?"

She groaned, noting once more how he could be so observant at the most inopportune times. Their chat through the dilapidated door would continue for hours, neither willing to back down. But for Ami, one thing was certain, she would be sure to never accept his actions as genuine acts of kindness.

* * *

Hello. So this one is short. I was going to do more but at this point I just wanted to update something. I've been a little busy and so writing has become somewhat sparse ^^;

Anyhow, thank you for reading and reviewing. All comments, questions or suggestions are graciously welcomed.

TopazDragon: Thank you so much for your review. Long reviews are always so lovely and you are always so encouraging! Thank you! It is truly motivating! I'm glad you liked Rei's bit. I was somewhat iffy on how it would be received but so far it seems okay. I hope this chapter was interesting since we now see Hotaru, Mamoru and Usagi in person. I am so extremely excited to get on about Usagi and Mamoru's relationship and even Ami and Duo's. So far those two have started to be my most favorite for this one. Anyhow, sorry for rambling ^^ and thank you once more for your review!

lily: Thank you for your review. I'm so happy you like the descriptions in here. Sometimes I think they might be crazy or confusing lol. And it was quite fun writing the Heero/Rei bit. More of them will certainly be fun to do! Boy do I have some plans for them! Anyhow, thank you again for your review!

Nerf-or-Nothing: It is so sad to hear that you are computer-less for a while. Curse your ex! And I am terribly sorry you had to go through all of that. Please don't commit murder...for some reason I get the picture that you don't really get much internet access when you're on trial for murder...and I am always looking for your updates! ^^; Nevertheless, thank you for your review! I'm flattered you think this story worthy of being categorized as epic. Hopefully it stays that way! Anyhow, I hope you're doing well! Especially after hearing about all the scandal you had to deal with.


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